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Cultural Bingo - March 1970

"Bingo ...is a moronic activity"

"......... the encouragement of large numbers of people to sit vacantly gaping at a numbered card in the usual vain expectation of totally undeserved reward is a questionable activity" Lord goodman Chairman of The Arts Council

Cultural Bingo was a game invented by Bill Harpe; the idea was simple, the audience played bingo but won not only prizes but also a 'cultural' activity'.

How It Worked

The Games

The room was set up as for bingo - and the audience arrived expecting to play bingo. They were given bingo cards. The audience had, at the start, no idea how the show would work.

Once seated they were facing a stage with a backdrop of numbers and on the left a bingo caller.

Above the audience seated with their books of bingo cards; right John Gorman being the bingo caller.

The first game of 15 numbers was played and a small prize won.

In the second game, also of 15 numbers, as each number was called a performer appeared. This was an appetizer of what was to come - each event was very short - no more than 30 second and with fast exits and entrances. The caller introduced each performer by name.

For the third game of 15 numbers - each performer gave a solo performance chosen so as to be not too long; or with strong dramatic impact.

Game 4 - 30 numbers - from this point on the Caller had control of the game. So it was for the Caller to decide whether to go for a single line or a full house, depending on how the numbers fell. This game introduced duets - so two numbers were called in quick succession and two performers took the stage. They could choose with to perform together or sequentially.

Game 5 A second game of 30 numbers - called so as to have trios, quartets or quintets. The performers had to 'pass on' from one to another so as to create a visual and/or sound chain.

The linking of performaces as described in Game 5 above and game 6 below is not easily shown in photos - so the photos selected here merely indicate the presence on stage of 3/4/5 people - not their interactions.

Above a quartet and trio of performers take the stage

Game 6 Game of 45 numbers . Passing on, as before , but all pieces had to be performed at speeds, rhythms, volumes, which were different from how they were normally performed. With different 'attack or 'qualities' of movement. It was intended that all the material of each piece should be performed but not from beginning to end , but in some new arrangement.

Left first a trio of a dancer, Ben Cruft on the violin and a trombonist and then a quartet of Barbara Harkin perfoming as Major Barbara, Pat Haggerty singing and playing , the poet Jean Longworth and someone who is obscured performing together.

The final game had 75 numbers. First played for 1 or 2 lines. As in the previous games performers 'passed on' from one to another but in this section they did it by ending the sequence; and then touching another performer or performers, who then started sections or sequences from their pieces. The other difference was that performers could use each others material but also had to perform their own.

After games for 1/2 lines they then played a full house of 75 numbers. It was the callers responisibility to set the right pace as from this point on there were no breaks until someone called House.

Bill intended that the previous games would build up a sense of community among the performers since the effect of the earlier scenes depended upon the performers doing not only their own material but their sensitivity , awareness, towards the work of the other performers.

The final sequence was therefore an image of culture when confronted by the reality of Bingo. to quote from Bill's briefing to the performers

"Culture might:-

1) Go down like a battle ship, with performers all sinking very slowely into the floor as they perform their material ; and slowely crawling together at the end to make a living pile of bodies

2) Enter into battle with Bingo, with each performer performing their pieces well and strongly

3) Stoically accept the situation, each performer continuing quietly and seriously to perform their material

Below are photos of the stage during the last game - very full of performers and art works

Bingo

Alongside the performances it was also necessary to have in in place all the activities which make up the game of Bingo. So the cards which were made at The Blackie. Someone to check the cards when people called 'House'. The prizes. And of course the Bingo caller.

Above someone claiming to have a winning line, a winning card being checked and left found wanting

Right the prizes, below someone collecting their prize and Josh Hamilton seated beside his winnings

The audience for the show was very mixed ranging from people who regularly played Bingo to those who had never previously done so. And they came with very different expectations - some came to play bingo and some to a piece of theatre. The audience also ranged across the age groups.

Above and right pictures of the audience.

Cultural bingo ran for three evenings and we had three different bingo callers. John Gorman from 'The Scaffold' , Adrian Henri - Liverpool poet and painter, and Peter Moloney.

Left John Gorman and Peter Moloney as the bingo callers on the First and last night respectively

The Credits

Cultural Bingo was a joint promotion by The Liverpool Festival, The Bluecoats Arts Forum and the Great Georges Project.